


Whumptober 2020

by NikuKnight



Category: Original Work
Genre: (It's for violence), Gen, Immortal Characters, This is part of a bigger universe but I'm hoping to publish that so I'm not posting it, Whumptober 2020, rated m to be safe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:28:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26880703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikuKnight/pseuds/NikuKnight
Summary: In a world where being cursed is a crime of circumstance, cursed immortals Ryan and Coulber have finally been caught. Guess who gets to suffer through The entirety of Whumptober?
Relationships: Original Male Character & Original Male Character, Original Male Character & Original Male Character & Original Female Character, Ryan & Coulber, Ryan & Coulber & Minke
Kudos: 2





	1. Waking up Restrained | Shackles | Hanging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why I'm doing this, but maybe it'll be fun? 
> 
> This happens in maybe the second fifth of the original story I'm working on. This is a little bit of an AU, just because I don't think I'm going to make them suffer this much in canon, heh.
> 
> (Quick note: Coulber is physically seventeen and Ryan is physically nineteen. Minke, who will be introduced next chapter, is sixteen.)

"Whacha got there?"

"Oh, these two? They've been charged with life sentences for treason."

"Treason? They're just kids!"

"Don't be fooled; these 'kids' are probably hundreds of years old. They're immortal, you see…"

"Ah, so that life sentence…"

"It's going to be a  _very_ long time."

Coulber's vision was blurry and his head was fuzzy, barely able to make out what the guards were saying. Goddess, had they drugged him? What about Ryan? He didn't want the guards knowing he was awake, but he needed to know the whereabouts of his brother. Had he gotten away?

No, the guards said "they;" Ryan was here too. So much for getting help.

From what he could gather in his dazed state, he was on the floor of a carriage. A prison cart, actually. His arms were tied behind his back, and his weapons were gone. He didn't know why he was surprised—he'd already proven himself a capable fighter when he started teaching Minke how to handle a sword. Of course they would make sure he couldn't fight back.

The cart lurched into motion, causing him to bump into another body behind him, most likely a still-unconscious Ryan.

Minke would be  _furious_ once she heard what happened. Maybe she'd be able to get them out. Then again, the guards had mentioned treason, right? Even the princess wouldn't be able to clear them from that, especially not one so confrontational as she. She had a reputation of being difficult to handle, and that would not help them here.

Coulber tried to think; where had he gone wrong? He knew being immortal was a big deal, but enough for a life sentence in prison? Why not just banish him? And  _treason?_ Something was up. He'd thought befriending the princess would be a way to gain people's trust, but apparently that hadn't worked out. Not that he was just using Minke for his own personal gain, but it had been a nice plus. 

_I wonder if I'll ever see her again._

The cart slowed to a bumpy stop.

"Alright, the sedatives shouldn't wear off for another couple hours, so there's no need to be gentle. Get these two to their cells."

Should he make a break for it? He was awake, which they wouldn't be expecting by the sounds of it, but he wouldn't be able to take Ryan with him. Of course, then he could go back and break him out. He couldn't do that from a cell.

Right. Making a break for it then.

The barred carriage door creaked open. Still, Coulber waited. He needed the guards to get close enough to stun so they didn't have time to react. Ryan was taken first, the sounds of gravel crunching getting farther away as the guards dragged his brother to the prison.  He mentally apologized, promising himself that he'd return.

When the guards stepped into the carriage to take him, Coulber finally made his move. Kicking out, he swept the guards' feet out from under them. With some difficulty thanks to his arms being immobilized behind his back, he got his feet under himself, jumping for the exit from the prison cart in a desperate bid for freedom.

Unfortunately, the drugs hadn't completely worn off. He was a bit slower than he'd hoped, giving one of the guards enough time to react and grab his ankle. This meant that his forward momentum changed to downward momentum, and he fell face-first onto the cobblestone. There was an awful  _crunch_ as his nose broke upon hitting the ground.

Coulber saw  _stars._ Involuntary tears welled up, as they do, and he cursed his optimism. How many people actually got away from the prison cart? He was immortal, not superhuman. Not dying didn't give him any extra strength.

A boot kicked him in the side, eliciting a grunt of pain. "Kicking a man while he's down," Coulber groaned, "is a real low blow."

He got another kick for his trouble.

"Get him up," one of the guards demanded. Two other guards immediately complied, grabbing him by the ropes binding his arms. They turned him to face the guard in charge, a harsh-looking man in his late thirties. "A 'low blow,' huh? You think you're funny, freak?"

Coulber stared him down, fury in his eyes.

The guard smiled before punching Coulber in the stomach, the other two guards holding him in place.

To the head guard's dissatisfaction, the fury remained.

"Take him downstairs. Some time alone should calm him down."

Coulber's expression briefly flitted to one of fear—wait, they were separating him from Ryan?—and the head guard chuckled to himself. A couple immortals, huh? He wondered how much fun he could have before he disproved that…

* * *

"Downstairs" apparently meant a literal-ass dungeon, complete with wall shackles—Coulber would know, as he was dangling from some right now.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been here. It didn't matter, really. In the grand scheme of things, very little time had passed. Hours, days, weeks even. He hadn't been given any food, but be wasn't particularly hungry. Perks of being immortal, he supposed.

Hs shoulders ached. Actually, everything ached. That tended to happen when you were shackled high enough for your feet not to touch the ground. The guards had laughed when they realized this, making barbed jokes about it as they walked away after securing him.

He hadn't seen them since.

Coulber was good at letting time pass, but hanging from the wall was, to put it lightly, horrible. It was impossible to relax. He was painfully aware of each passing second most of the time. His sleep was fitful at best, as he woke up with every little involuntary twitch.

He would say it felt like he'd been there for an eternity, but he knew what eternity felt like, and this wasn't it. It was a close thing, though.

Footsteps. Coulber tried not to perk up at the sound, but it was hard not to look forward to human interaction. But this was unlikely to be a friendly chat, he reminded himself.

The head guard (Coulber didn't care to learn his name) came in, dragging a struggling Ryan with him.

"Ryan!" Coulber croaked, voice hoarse from disuse. Goodness, how long had it been, if his voice sounded that bad?

"Don't get too excited, freak." The guard scoffed. "You two won't be together long. We have a special guest coming."

What was that supposed to mean?

The guard dragged Ryan over to the wall, attempting to get his wrists in the empty set of shackles next to Coulber. "Cease your useless struggling, boy! It won't help you!" He shoved Ryan's head against the wall, dazing him long enough to get the shackles on his wrists without further fighting.

"I wasn't about to make it easy, old man." Ryan slurred with a stupid grin. Being a couple inches taller than Coulber, he was barely able to reach the ground with his toes.

The guard "hmph"ed, dusting himself off. "Smile while you can, boys. Things are about to get much worse for you."

With that bit of foreboding advice, he left. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we have it! If you have anything you want to say, comments are welcome! Some things will clear up at time goes on, as I'll do my best to explain things as the story goes on, but since this is written for my own benefit more than anyone else's, I might not introduce characters properly. Day 2 prompts-fill coming soon!


	2. "Pick who dies" | Collars | Kidnapping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cut to Minke, who notices Ryan and Coulber are missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2! I'm behind but I'll probably keep writing this after October. Because wynaut. This one's not that bad in terms of whump, heh. I'm not good at this. 
> 
> Also, looking at the prompts, I'm either going to do them out of order or jump around in the timeline, because it's going to be nearly impossible to make all this a cohesive story as it is now. I can do a single arc with the first few, but that's it.

Even when Minke's day began, it felt…off. There was something people weren't telling her; they'd go quiet when she entered a room. She'd been working on managing her anger, so instead of yelling at anyone about it she went to go find her friends and combat trainers, the Stück brothers. Sparring with them would allow her to blow off some steam.

They weren't scheduled to train her today, but that was okay; she knew where they lived. Ignoring the servants who quieted down as she passed, she made her way out of the palace and into the market. 

"Care for a sample, princess?"

"Fresh poultry here!"

"You'd look beautiful in this dress, dearie."

Minke had to suppress the urge to snarl at all the shopkeepers hawking their wares. They were nice enough, she supposed, but if she wanted to buy something, she'd buy it. Bothering her wouldn't make her any more inclined to support their business. 

Still, though, she was a princess, and she was expected to act like one. Telling people to "piss off" would reflect badly on the kingdom. 

That's what people told her, anyway; these days she was known enough for her temper that she swore people were trying to set her off on purpose. That reflected not on the kingdom, but on Minke, and Minke alone. 

Finally arriving at the brothers' humble abode, she knocked with a clawed hand, discovering the door to already be slightly ajar. 

That wasn't good. 

She opened the door the rest of the way, gasping at scene. It looked like a tornado had gone through, wrecking everything in its path. Ryan and Coulber had few belongings, telling her they didn't see the point when they'd have to leave someday anyway, but what they did have was important to them. Now everything they had of value was missing, and everything else was in pieces scattered across the floor. 

_Someone found out._

Their immortality was a well-kept secret, one she was fortunate enough to be trusted with. But someone must have figured it out, because damage like this? This was personal.

Minke felt her anger rising, and this time she did nothing to stop it. It wasn't even their fault they were cursed to be immortal! How long had they lived, having to move every few years out of fear of—of this?!

She was so consumed by her rage that she didn't realize someone was watching her until it was too late.

She felt a sting on the side of her neck. Before she could even turn to find the source, she was already falling.

"Night night, kitty-cat…"

* * *

Minke woke up slowly, a result of being drugged, she assumed.

Ugh! She couldn't believe she'd let herself get taken out so easily. There was a reason she was working on her anger, and this was exactly why: it blinded her to details that could save her life.

She'd gotten spoiled. Her reputation had kept people away, friend and foe alike. The only exceptions were Ryan and Coulber Stück; they looked past her cold exterior and offered friendship. She'd never really had friends before, so she was as protective of them as they were of her. Which was also strange; as the oldest royal heir, the only people who'd ever cared to protect her were her parents and the royal guard, and even they had eased off once she'd gotten older. There were younger siblings to protect, after all.

Regardless, she'd let her guard down, and paid the price. Here she was, kidnapped, and she hadn't even let anyone know where she was going because she was too angry at them for hiding things from her to talk to them. She should've known that enemies would eventually try to attack her despite her rough reputation. People liked a challenge, after all.

Minke was just looking around to see if she could find a weapon or escape route when she heard the door unlock.

"How's my kitty-princess doing?" A weird man entered the room, closing and re-locking the door behind him. He was silent on his feet despite her keen hearing, but definitely beefy enough for that to be very difficult. It was an odd combination, but explained why she hadn't noticed him in the Stück brothers' house.

Minke answered the humiliating question by throwing the nearest object at the man's head. Sadly, it was just a pillow, so no harm was done.

The man tutted. "Now that's rude. Is that any way to treat the only person who knows where you are? I even got you that nice collar."

Wha—collar? Minke's hands flew to her neck, where, sure enough, a sturdy collar rested. She tried to slice through it with her claws to no avail; it was almost as if—

"I took the liberty of filing your claws. I'm not a complete fool."

Minke let out an animalistic sound of frustration. "What do you want from me?!"

"A pet princess was the goal, but, that not working out, ransom will do just fine." The man sat down in a nearby chair, unsheathing a knife and twirling it nonchalantly.

"They'll kill you before giving you anything," Minke spat. If not the royal family, then Ryan and Coulber would.

They just had to find her first.

"Perhaps. But they'll have to figure out you're gone, first. It really is unfortunate, that reputation you have. Would anyone be surprised to hear you've left for a hunting trip with your dear combat trainers? They're a little too close, if you get what I mean. Do they share you?"

Ignoring _that_ disgusting image, Minke instead focused on the more important question. "What have you done with Ryan and Coulber?!"

The man laughed. "Oh, I'm sure they're fine, wherever they are. Just away for that hunting trip I mentioned. Did they not tell you?" He began tossing the knife up in the air, catching it without looking. "And here I thought they were your friends."

She shook her head, not letting his words get to her. Okay, so Ryan and Coulber weren't going to know she was missing, and neither would the royal family, if what her kidnapper said was true. She'd have to take matters into her own hands.

She began inching towards the infuriating man in the hopes of getting close enough to catch his knife, but he took that as his cue to leave. "I'll be going, now. I'll bring you some food later."

* * *

Later was a lot, lot later. It felt like it anyway. The meal consisted of milk in a saucer and sardines in a bowl, no silverware provided.

Goddess. She knew she had cat features, but this was too much.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Minke proved herself too troublesome, and her kidnapper decided to ransom her instead. Unfortunately for him, he underestimated the growth rate of her claws; newly sharpened, she used them to saw through her rope bonds at the ransom exchange, turning on him and swiping them across his stomach. She got a knife in her shoulder (worryingly close to her neck) for her trouble, but it was entirely worth it.

It was satisfying, killing him.

* * *

She was put under watch when she got home.

"Next time you leave the palace, tell someone!" Her mother scolded her. "Goodness knows the Stück brothers aren't here to protect you anymore. You need to think about the kingdom!"

There it was again. "What happened to Ryan and Coulber?" Minke's voice was steel.

The Queen sighed, not answering. "You'll be meeting your new combat trainer in two weeks. Try and rest up until then, dear. That knife wound looked awfully deep."

At her mother's cue, a palace guard escorted her to her room.

* * *

Once she made a fuss about not being allowed to leave her room ("It's like being held captive all over again!") she was allowed to roam the castle. She was _not_ allowed to pick up a weapon for fear she'd reopen her knife wound, but that was fine. She had information to gather.

She skulked around the castle, listening for any talk of her former trainers. Luckily, her newly grown-in feline features made this much easier than it had ever been before. She was lighter on her feet, having a tail to avoid overbalancing, and her ears swiveled to allow better hearing in a selected direction.

Days passed, each with hours upon hours spent loitering in dark corners and secret passages (which she only knew about thanks to her mischievous little brother, Wob), and still no word of Ryan and Coulber's mysterious disappearance. It was pissing her off. She was about ready to storm the throne room and demand answers when she heard footsteps outside the hidden door she was sequestered away in.

"Minke~, I know you're in there." It was Wob.

Minke groaned, her ears laying back in her frustration. "Go away, Wob. You'll give away my position."

"There's no one here," the boy argued.

"Maybe not  _ now, _ but someone could walk by." Minke argued right back.

"Well, I guess I won't tell you what I just heard, then."

Cheeky. But, Minke hadn't had any luck in this particular passage, so, reluctantly, she opened the hidden door. "Does it have to do with Ryan and Coulber?"

Wob nodded. "Mother made everyone agree not to tell us, but I overheard them talking about it when I was sneaking some food from the kitchens." Now that he mentioned it, Minke could see crumbs all over her brother's face. "They're in that shady prison across the river!"

"What?!" She hissed. On one hand, at least they weren't dead, but the warden of that particular prison was unsavory at best. Truthfully, he was a cruel man, and Minke pitied the unfortunate souls who were held there.

And now her only friends were there.

Wob looked up in alarm at the sound of voices. "Scoot back! We can leave the castle through here!"

Minke hastily complied, scooting back to give Wob room to enter the secret passage. Once he was in she closed the door as quickly as she dared, slowing it down at the very last moment to prevent any noise.

Once the voices passed, Wob spoke up. "Don't you have a lantern?" He was looking fearfully all around, trying to see anything at all.

"Sorry, cat eyes. Don't need a lantern."

"That might complicate things." Wob tried to keep the tremors from his voice.

How was this boy afraid of the dark? He used these passages to sneak around all the time!

Still, Minke didn't have many opportunities to be a good older sister. So, tamping down on the anger that always seemed to be just under her skin, she put her uninjured arm around her little brother's shoulders and pulled him close.

Then she ruined the moment. "I thought you'd outgrown being afraid of the dark."

"Why would I do that?" Wob looked in her general direction like she'd grown a second head. "There's scary things in the dark! Ghosts and monsters and—"

"Then let's get the brothers back," Minke interrupted. "Maybe they can train you too, and you'll be able to fight those monsters."

"And the ghosts?"

"Let's focus on one thing at a time, Wob."

* * *

By the time they made it out of the castle, it was nearing evening.

By the time they made it to the prison, the sun had gone down.

Which is about the time that they realized they needed a plan. How does one break someone else out of a prison? It's a prison; it's literally designed to keep people in.

In the end, they decided to try and use Minke's authority as the princess to demand their release. Wob was to hide and wait; he was too young to be allowed inside, and bringing him would give away the fact that Minke wasn't here under the Queen's orders.

Here went nothing.

* * *

The warden met her in his office.

"Ah, Minke, what an honor it is, to be in the presence of the Kingdom's royal heir." The warden was slimy as always—not literally, of course, rather figuratively. Talking to him made one feel like they had stepped in something…unpleasant. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You have wrongfully imprisoned my combat trainers; I am here to get them back." Minke did her best to sound professional, but couldn't help the lash of her tail displaying her true feelings on the matter.

"The immortal boys, of course. I should have expected." The warden spoke like one might discuss their literary preferences. "I have it on the law's authority to keep them here and do whatever I wish with them. Unless the Queen has overturned the law against the cursed?"

Minke could've laughed—the warden just gave her the perfect excuse! How stupid was he?!

"Who ever said they were cursed?"

"I assure you, Princess," the warden's smile grew strained, "immortality is anything but natural."

"Are you calling the royal family cursed, then, for their animal traits?" Minke challenged. "They started so long ago, no one knows their true origins. Does that not sound similar to the unknown source of immortality?" She was never one for mind games, but she had thought long and hard about this. Sure, Ryan had told her himself that their immortality was a curse, but the warden couldn't know that. And even if he did, what did that mean for the royal family? How was having different, inhuman features any different from having a different, inhuman lifespan?

"Are you sure this is a game you want to play, kitty-cat?" The warden grinned like a snake. "Suggesting the royal family is cursed; sounds an awful lot like treason to me."

The audacity—!

Perhaps noticing the danger he was in, being at the mercy of Minke's temper and otherwise alone, the warden changed tactics. "Fine. I will let them go. Follow me, please."

Finally!

But as the warden led her through the halls of cells, he beckoned to every guard he passed, and Minke realized he had agreed far too easily. She wasn't an idiot, though she thought with her claws more than her head sometimes, and right now she knew she was in deep shit.

Once the warden had a veritable army behind him, he finally located a stairway going down. "After you, princess."

It wasn't a request.

As foreboding as the situation was, Minke knew this would lead her to the Stück brothers. What other choice did she have?

She descended.

* * *

At the bottom of the stairs she was hit by the smell of blood. Eyes adjusting to the dark quickly, she gasped, rushing over to the nearest cell door.

"Ryan! Coulber!" Her eyes roved their suspended bodies for injuries, and though they weren't unharmed, there was still a small amount of relief in her stew of rage. In the time that had passed since discovering their absence, they could've gotten much, much worse.

"Minke?" Coulber lifted his head. Upon recognizing that yes, Minke was actually there, he lightly kicked Ryan with some effort. "Hey, Dumbass, wake up, Minke's here." Kicking Ryan, of course, shifted his weight in his shackles, and he grimaced as they bit into his wrists.

"Meen-kuh?" Ryan slurred. He was squinting, like the light was too bright, even though it was dark as fuck in this place.

Yikes.

"As you can see, they've been a bit difficult to deal with, so we put them down here." The warden said, drawing Minke's attention away from the disturbing sight of her friends on the wall.

"Release them at once!" She demanded.

"In due time. But first…" The warden snapped, and another guard entered from the stairs, carrying a struggling Wob.

Ugh. Why did he get caught now of all times? Couldn't it have been when he put peppers in the pudding?

"I don't believe you are here under any orders but your own, princess, and I'm afraid that's just not good enough to free a couple of dangerous, cursed immortals and two treasonous royals. But I suppose, out of the goodness of my heart, I can let  _one_ go.

"So choose: you, an immortal, or little Prince Wob?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally copped out of showing all the time Minke spent kidnapped, but shh. I just. Don't really like kidnapping stuff? It's not fun to write. 
> 
> Oh and by the way, Stück is pronounced "shtook." It means piece or part in german, which is so on-the-nose you have no idea. And you will likely continue to have no idea, because that particular plot twist is something I'll probably save for the actual story. Listen, I'm paranoid about thieves. I know Ao3 will fight for you, but this book I'm writing is dear to me and I don't want to risk anything happening to it. Thus this being an AU. 
> 
> I can't believe I'm gonna be the author who writes fanfiction of their own works. I'm a meme!!


	3. Manhandled | Forced to their Knees | Held at Knife-edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A treasure hunt gone wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to go with the "jumping around the timeline" option. This happens before Ryan and Coulber meet Minke. It's actually a scenario I was playing with before I heard about whumptober, and thus hardly follows the prompt at all. Sorry? Shit still gets real though so I'm not complaining. The prompts are just inspirational points, right?
> 
> Also, thank you to the one single guest who gave me kudos!!

"Not a step closer, Stück, or your little brother gets it." The lowlife with the knife had Coulber held fast, knife pressed to his throat. Blood beaded where the edge of the blade met the immortal's flesh.

This…was less than ideal. Still, it wasn't the worst thing that could happen.

Coulber saw Ryan's legs tense, about to take action. "Ryan don't you fucking dare!" He risked saying; the knife pressed a bit harder at the movement of his throat, but  _goddessdamnit,_ it was going to be a lot worse if Ryan went through with his stupid plan!

"Yeah,  _Ryan,_ listen to your brother. He's got the right idea."

Ryan shrugged. "He generally does, being the more cautious one." He took a step forward. "But I've got a different way of doing things."

* * *

The Stück brothers did what they had to to get by.

They didn't need food, not really, but it was nice when they had it. There was definitely a boost in energy and their healing rate when they ate something, so they tried to have at least a one meal a day. That saved money in the long run, which was hard to come by when you could never stay in one place for very long.

Now, what would they need money for if they're immortal? Supplies, if not food, then weapons, clothes, and lodging. But mostly their money was used for bribery.

Lots and lots of bribery.

Got a mob after your head? Bribe the nearest transport! Need information? The barkeep! Money made the world go round.

But bribes were never small, and money like that had to come from somewhere. That's where the mercenary work came in.

The two immortals preferred treasure-hunting jobs, but wouldn't turn down a monster hunt, so long as the target wasn't humanoid. In their experience, if it looked human, then it probably was; in that case, it was only being hunted because it was cursed. Being cursed, themselves, Ryan and Coulber weren't going to raise a hand against a potential ally.

Rescue missions were fine, too, so long as they weren't kidnapping jobs in disguise. It was disappointing how often that happened.

The job they were on currently was, fortunately, a treasure hunt. They had an indefinite amount of time to find and retrieve a famed magic orb, said to be hidden in the ruins of an old castle city. The city, of course, had been scoured to no avail, but Coulber remembered this city. He and Ryan had lived here, once, when it was still alive and full of people. The magic orb had remained undisturbed in a hidden passage under the house once belonging to the king's favored mistress. Of course, they had not been friends of the king  _or_ his favored mistress, so they did not actually know where her house was, exactly.

Still, it was more than what most treasure hunters had to go on.

Coulber wracked his memory,  _knowing_ there was something he was missing. A friend of a friend was the mistress's sister, or something, right? That's how they knew the orb was hidden under her house, after all. The grapevine was very informative at that time. It was why they'd had to get out, actually.

Suddenly it came to him: the house with the koi fish pond! The pond used to glow!! Surely it wasn't that simple?

But the king had had a thing for fancy glowing gifts, and that certainly fit the bill.

"Ryan, I think I figured it out!" Coulber got his brother's attention from where he was poking around another overgrown structure.

"Really?"

Coulber nodded. "Remember the house with the glowing fish pond?"

"That gaudy thing?" Ryan remembered with disgust. "I was trying to forget it, actually."

"That's the house we need to find!" Coulber was getting excited now, something positive finally overruling the mixed feelings he got from seeing this city in ruins.

"What, do you think the orb is hidden in the pond? People would've found it by now."

Coulber sighed. "It's not the pond that's special, it's the house! Don't you remember what—shit, what was his name? It's been so long…"

"I don't remember much from then, Coulber. Not names, or faces, or what people said a century ago. I don't even remember Mom; why would anything about this city stick with me?" Ryan tried not to sound sad about it, but failed. He'd always told himself he lived in the present, but the truth was he didn't have much choice in the matter. Once you lived so long, you forgot things. That's just how it was.

That's how it was for Ryan, anyway. He remembered random things, like when they first became immortal, or the pet bear they had once, but remembering every house they'd lived in, every friend they'd had? That was impossible.

Coulber forgot things too, of course. But it didn't seem to be nearly as much. He remembered people, places, and events, if not names, apparently. He was also generally more depressed, though, so Ryan thought that perhaps forgetting things was for the best. It couldn't be good, missing so many things that no longer existed.

Coulber flinched at the reminder that Ryan couldn't remember their mother. She had been kind beyond belief, accepting them even though they had gotten cursed. Coulber still remembered her voice, which is said to be the first thing you forget about a person.

Doing his best to put the irrelevant past out of his mind, he focused on the present. "So you don't remember where that house is either, then?"

"I just explained that no, I don't remember anything about this city. Not even sure I would recognize our old hovel here, if it's still standing."

Yeah, no, they hadn't lived in a hovel in this city. But that didn't matter, so Coulber tried to get back on track. Again.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Coulber'd had no idea the accuracy of that statement, when he first thought it. They'd searched into the night, finally discovering a secret passage beneath the remains of a garden shed. A great big tree had grown over the entrance, the roots blocking the way, but it was nothing a sharp machete couldn't fix.

Coulber was slightly worried something had made its home in the tunnel beneath, but fortunately he was worried for nothing. It was only the normal spiders, bugs, and snakes here.

There was a glow, ahead.

* * *

There were people waiting for them, once they left the tunnel.

Taken by surprise, Coulber was grabbed as he was climbing out. He put up a fight, but his shorter frame did him no favors. He was eventually forced to his knees. Once the knife was held to his neck, he froze, getting flashbacks to all the horrid neck injuries he'd gotten over the years.

Ryan climbed out of the tunnel next, but, having heard sounds of a scuffle, he was a little more prepared. He grabbed the ankles of the nearest ambusher before he was even all the way out onto the surface, dragging him down into the tunnel. He didn't envy the rough landing the man was in for at the bottom, making sure to grip the ladder himself once he let go of the ambusher's ankles so he wouldn't follow.

While the others were busy being shocked over that, he climbed back to solid ground and got to his feet. He went to attack the next ambusher before the one holding Coulber cleared his throat.

"Not a step closer, Stück, or your little brother gets it."

Ryan, of course, was having none of it. There was the easy way out of this that didn't involve bodily harm, or there was the faster, more stress-relieving route that involved lots of bodily harm  _and_ not losing the orb. In a bad mood from the turn of events and the late hour, Ryan chose the latter.

They had their quick back and forth, before Ryan made his move. Too quick for the other ambushers to stop him, he lunged for the one holding Coulber, intent on killing the presumed leader of the operation.

Said presumed leader's eyes widened in shock at Ryan's audacity, before realizing what was going on and following through with his threat. With a single movement, Coulber's throat was cut and blood began to rush from the ordinarily deadly wound.

The thug dropped Coulber right in time to get stabbed by Ryan. He had just enough time to regret this, reasoning that maybe if he had held on to the younger brother he could've used him as a shield, before the life left his body.

Coulber, eyes alight with rightful indigence, staggered to his feet and drew his sword. He may be losing a lot of blood, but that had never stopped him before. He wondered if that was part of this curse of immortality: inhumanly fast blood replenishment.

The two remaining ambushers took one look at the dead-man-walking and ran.

Coulber chased after them in hot pursuit. He and Ryan needed to kill them before word got out about their immortality.  _Again._ He stumbled a bit, slightly lightheaded, and realized he wouldn't be able to catch up in his state.

"Ryan! Help me!" He tried to say, but nothing came out but some wheezing and bubbles forming in his neck wound.

Oh, great, he was mute! Fucking fantastic! Thanks, Ryan!

Coulber was going to punch his brother in the face after they killed these goons.

Ryan, for his part, was about to catch up to Coulber, having had to take some extra time to dispatch the ambusher he'd thrown down the tunnel. Apparently the unfortunate man had managed to climb back out.

Now passing Coulber with ease, Ryan mentally hunkered down in preparation for the long chase. Or not-so-long chase, depending on their opponents' stamina. Although, putting the fear of god into someone tended to get the adrenaline flowing.

Coulber fell behind, quite literally, tripping over some rubble and crashing to the ground.

Goddess, why was it always him?

* * *

Unfortunately, the ambushers managed to get away by stealing Ryan and Coulber's horses. Grumbling to himself, Ryan retraced his steps through theruined city, finding Coulber attempting to wrap his own neck with bandages.

"That's going to need stitches, you know."

Coulber huffed from where he sat against a crumbling wall, splattering blood everywhere.

When he didn't say anything, Ryan knew something was up. He crouched down to get a better look at the wound, only to get punched square in the face. The force made him lose his balance, knocking him over.

"Coulber, what the hell!"

Coulber angrily pointed to the still-gushing wound on his neck, then at Ryan.

"Right, I guess I deserved that. Still though, it was either that or give them the orb. It's not like you'll die or anything." Ryan explained his reasoning.

Coulber crossed his arms, looking to the side with a scowl like a petulant child. He'd punch his brother again, but he did need someone to stitch up his neck, and no one else was around to do it. Of course, stitching it up wouldn't make it stop hurting like a motherfucker, or make breathing any easier, but since when did he get to have nice things?

Ryan took that as an indication to end the conversation, searching his bag for the first aid supplies. He finally found the needle and thread at the bottom of the bag and set to work.

* * *

It took more than a week for them to get back to to their client's estate, what with the loss of their horses. In that time Coulber's neck began to heal, though it wasn't ready for the stitches to be removed quite yet. His voice was on its way back, at least, but for the time being he could only whisper. To avoid scrutiny, Coulber took to wearing a scarf to cover the bandages. Most people did not survive neck wounds, after all.

"I take it your search was fruitful, if you're back so soon," Their client guessed. He was a snobbish man, the kind of person who thought most tasks were below them. But these types were good for the wallet, as they were willing to throw any amount of money around to get what they wanted. Such was the case here.

Most of the time, anyway. There was always that one person who thought  _paying_ people was beneath them too.

Regardless, Ryan retrieved the magic orb from his bag, carefully holding it with some cloth. Ironically, it was about the size of an apple.  _Fruitful indeed._

The client snatched the orb before Ryan could react. "Finally! I've finally found the lost Orb of Granting!"

Coulber began to feel something akin to fear. A mild discomfort, but growing worse by the second. This man was entirely too excited. And 'Orb of Granting?' Wasn't it the magic Orb of Power?

"Actually, sir, we found the orb, as you hired us to. We've done our part—it's time for you to return the favor, don't you think?" Ryan wasn't one to mince words, but being too blunt here was asking for trouble. He noticed Coulber getting antsy and knew they had to leave as soon as possible. Either the implication that this man knew witchcraft was getting to him, or something bad was going to happen.

"Oh, you want your payment?" The man asked. "Sorry, I don't work with Cursed. As far as I'm concerned,  _I_ discovered this beautiful, wonderful artifact. As for you…Guards!"

Guards? How loaded was this guy?

Coulber made to run, but noticed Ryan, frozen and speechless. "Come on!" He whisper-shouted, dragging his brother towards the exit.

Right. Jerking out of his thoughts, Ryan began to run.

Was it sad that this wasn't that unusual? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So back when these characters were just the barest concepts without names, I called Ryan "Lucky" and Coulber "Unlucky." It's a theme that's likely to stick around. 
> 
> Story time! I had to look up how long it takes stitches to heal for this, and in doing so I discovered that I should have gotten stitches for the cut I got on my own neck when I was little! I don't know how I got away with not getting stitches; you could see the layer of fat underneath the skin. Unsurprisingly I still have a scar from it, more than ten years later. It's very dramatic: all white and slightly raised. When people ask about it (which doesn't happen very often :( ) I like to say that I was held at knife-point in a hostage situation. So that was actually kind of the inspiration for this! Of course, that's a total lie. What really happened was I held a Very Upset cat, and as she flailed to try to escape she caught me in the neck with a back claw. Poor kitty. Poor me, too, but that's beside the point.


	4. Caged | Buried Alive | Collapsed Building

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saved by the earthquake! Kind of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back to the prison! Can I just say how hard it is to start a chapter? 
> 
> We're going into full AU territory from the book I'm writing, here. Or maybe that's next chapter? One of the characters gets introduced differently. Also I think Ryan and Coulber's dynamic/origin is slightly different, because here they're just immortal brothers. In the book it's a LOT more complicated. 
> 
> Also most of the month has passed and I'm only just posting day four. How embarrassing.

It was…a tough next few weeks. Minke was largely left alone, but used as a bargaining chip against the Stück brothers. If they retaliated against the guards, verbally or otherwise, she would be beaten. This meant that the quips died down rather quickly. 

The brothers, on the other hand, were  _not_ largely left alone. Sometimes the guards came in just to make their lives difficult, but it was the warden that really knew how to make them miserable. He'd come down and bait Minke until she was metaphorically chomping at the bit, which is when he'd decide she needed to be punished for her temper. Every time, Ryan or Coulber, whoever was more recovered from the last beating, would volunteer to take the punishment. 

Needless to say, all three were drowning in guilt. 

_Minke_ felt awful about not being able to control her temper. Even when there were direct consequences, she still couldn't get a handle on her emotions. It was frustrating beyond all reason. 

_Ryan_ felt awful about letting Coulber take so many beatings. Immortal or not, he would always be Ryan's little brother. Ryan may act like he doesn't care, or make stupid decisions in the moment that lead to harm coming to Coulber (like that magic orb incident), but he always felt bad about it after the fact. Especially since Coulber took things so much harder, emotionally.

_Coulber_ felt awful about getting caught in the first place; had they not gone missing, Minke wouldn't have gone looking for them. Better yet, if they hadn't agreed to becoming her personal combat trainers in the first place she wouldn't even be missing them!

He had to admit, though, it was nice having company.

* * *

Ryan grit his teeth as the warden carved an intricate hatching pattern into the flesh over his ribs, every slice crisscrossing the others. The man seemed to get a sick sort of pleasure in cutting people  _just_ deep enough to hurt, without leaving lasting damage. He said he'd be getting to bigger things, soon, that they'd been taking the "baby steps" long enough. Ryan wasn't looking forward to that.

The guards, of course, weren't nearly so delicate, normally choosing simpler, more violent methods of punishment for the brothers' existence. Anything from actually entering their cell and punching them (that took two people, now, as Ryan had taken  _great_ pleasure in kicking the last person to come in solo in the family jewels. Coulber had gotten beaten up for it, which Ryan felt bad about, but seeing that guard writhing in pain on the ground had been  _beyond_ satisfying.) to throwing rocks. Uncreative, yes, but unfortunately effective. One had gotten Coulber in the eye, which had since gone milky. It would heal, eventually, but for now he could say good-bye to depth perception.

Ryan's thoughts were interrupted when the warden noticed him not paying attention, cutting deeper than he had been to rectify that. He hissed at the unexpected increase in pain before stifling it, not wanting to give the warden the pleasure of hearing him struggle.

"Perhaps I've been going too slow with things…" the warden mused. "Instead of merely having fun, why don't we begin to experiment? How long does it take an immortal's skin to grow back, I wonder?"

Oh, that was going to hurt.

Grinning at the fear in Ryan's eyes and the violent swearing coming from Minke's direction (where did a princess learn such vulgar language?), the warden got to work. Deftly he cut, sliding his knife underneath Ryan's skin until an entire section was hanging off of Ryan's thigh. He sliced the piece off, letting it fall to the ground with an expression of distaste.

Ryan, understandably, was screaming, both in pain and horror at the sight of the inside of his leg. That's something that's never supposed to be seen, in his very reasonable opinion. He struggled in his shackles, from which he was still hanging against the wall. Blood flowed freely from the new wound, and he was most definitely getting faint. He knew he wouldn't die from the blood loss, but he was dearly hoping he'd at least pass out from it.

So far, no such luck.

The warden chuckled. "Who knows, immortal, maybe someday you'll outlive those chains, and your struggling will have purpose. I assure you, though, that until then, struggling will only make things worse. You wouldn't want me to miss and puncture an organ, now, would you?" He dragged the knife over Ryan's stomach, creating a thin line of blood in its wake.

Ryan stilled, more because he was running out of energy than to make things easier for the warden. Puncturing an organ would suck, but it, like everything else, would heal.

As the warden was deciding where to take skin from next (do more vital areas of the body heal faster?), the ground began to shake, causing him to cut more deeply than he meant to. He must have hit an artery, because blood spurted onto his shirt.

Well. He had half a mind to stab the immortal for his blood's transgression, but that would likely lead to more bloodstains. It was why he preferred the more shallow-cutting methods of torture, personally.

The ground continued to shake, growing more violent in its side-to-side movement. Chunks of the walls and ceiling began crumbling around then. There was nowhere to take cover but the table that stored the knives, and it was outside the cells.

"Warden! We have to get above ground!" A guard said from the stairs. "The prison can't take any more of this earthquake! It's going to collapse!"

"Very well," said the warden, calm despite the danger.

He left without a second thought.

"Hey!" Coulber shouted after him. "What about Minke? She's your princess!"

Either not hearing him or, more likely, not caring, the warden did not hang back to respond.

Just after the warden left, the stairway caved in. All three of the prisoners—the only ones in the dungeon, as the rest were above-ground—hoped beyond hope that the sadistic man had gotten crushed with them.

Knowing their luck, though, he was probably fine.

* * *

Coulber was worried. Extremely so, actually. Here they were, the mortal Minke included, underground during an earthquake. No cover. Ryan was unconscious, finally, the pain and blood loss proving too much for him. Minke was using her claws to try to pick the lock on her cell in a desperate attempt to get out. It was nothing she hadn't tried before, but this could be life or death, and she was hoping the direness of the situation would help her along.

Coulber was trying everything he could think of to get out of his shackles. The warden had left the immortals' cell door open, but it wouldn't matter if they couldn't get off  _this damn wall!_

It was as good a time as any to use his last-resort shackle-escape trick: breaking his thumbs. It sucked, but was a necessary sacrifice if it meant getting free. He only did it when he was  _positive_ he could escape, and that there was no other way, because if he failed to escape then they'd likely shackle his ankles as well, which were a lot harder to break out of.

His hands now slid through the shackles with little effort, greatly aided by gravity, and he fell bonelessly to the ground.

It had been too long since his legs had supported any weight. Shakily he got to his feet, his body screaming at the change in position from the last several weeks. He was pretty sure he tore some muscles in his shoulders and back, actually.

Leaving Ryan on the wall for now, (he'd been there a couple weeks fewer than Coulber,  _and_ he was unconscious. He could deal with hanging a little bit longer) Coulber lurched towards the open cell door. The world was still shaking, making staying upright even more difficult than it already was. He dodged a falling chunk of ceiling, banging his head into a cell bar as he misjudged its distance. Having no depth perception sucked.

He blacked out for a moment, though he was pretty sure he heard Minke calling his name. He came to quickly, spotting an axe over by the stairway.

How very convenient. That was odd.

He ran and retrieved the axe, nearly dropping it due to his thumbs, before lining it up with the lock on Minke's cell. "Get back, Minke!"

Minke hastily did as she was told, scrambling away and covering her head with her arms.

Coulber swung the axe, successfully breaking the lock. "Yes!"

Which is when all hell broke lose, as if it hadn't already.

The ceiling began to cave in.

Coulber dove for Minke; they didn't have time to take cover under the table, so he could only hope to protect her by covering her body with his.

He got to her, barely, before the walls came down around them.

* * *

When the quaking stopped, they were completely buried in rubble.

"You okay, Minke?" Coulber asked, uncurling from his protective position over her. Moving shifted the rubble around them, and he was hesitant to dislodge anything that might potentially crush them, so he stopped.

"I think so," Minke responded tentatively. "Nothing hurts any worse than before, so I think I'm fine. What about you?" She was shaken, an unusual look for her. She looked a mess, but if she said she was okay, Coulber had no choice but to believe her.

"I'll survive," Coulber cracked a grin that was very out-of place, given their current situation. Truthfully, he'd seen better days; between the torturous last several weeks and the cave-in, he was pretty battered. His legs were weak from disuse, his shoulders were done in for the time being, what with the hanging from his wrists, his back was in bad shape, having taken the brunt of the rocks from the cave-in, and that wasn't even mentioning the numerous cuts from the warden and all the bruises and broken bones from the guards' beatings.

It was bad, yes, but, thinking of the warden's last act before leaving, Ryan definitely had it worse.

They had to find a way to shift this rubble. Minke wouldn't survive long without food or water; she hadn't been getting enough as it was. He also had to get to Ryan and find a way to clean that—well,  _wound_ was putting it lightly—before it got infected. Because a wound that big, in a place like this? Infection was almost guaranteed.

Carefully, he began to move, testing what movements would shift what rubble. It was a bit awkward, literally being on top of Minke, but as far as he knew there was nothing between them for this to make things worse.

When he tried to move his foot, however, is when he realized there was an issue. "Shit."

"What?"

"I think my foot's stuck."

"Yeah, well my  _everything_ is stuck under  _you,_ so get it unstuck!"

Ah, there was the Minke they all knew and loved.

But that was still easier said than done. "No, I think it's stuck-stuck. Crushed. I can't move it. I don't notice at first because everything hurts so much it all feels the same, but it jolts when I try to move it."

Minke sighed. "No offense, Coulber, but that's going to be all of us if we don't get out of here, so, speaking as someone who's not immortal, I'm going to need you to get over it."

"Thanks, Minke. I can really tell you care." Coulber tried to laugh, but didn't have the energy. "But you're right. I'm just worried that you'll get crushed too if I move things too much."

"It's either move and maybe get crushed or do nothing and definitely starve. One's faster; I'll take that. Move it." Minke was tired and in pain, and didn't have the energy to be nice, not even to her friends. Coulber would understand.

Some precarious shifting later, and they had formed a small cavern between some larger pieces of rubble. Coulbers foot was still stuck under one of those larger pieces, but Minke, at least, was free to move around in the darkness.

"I'm going to try to get to Ryan," Minke decided. "I can still see thanks to my cat eyes, so I'm not totally blind down here."

"Alright," Coulber grunted, trying to lift the boulder off his foot, "I'll just…be here then…"

* * *

When Ryan came to, he was tremendously confused.

He didn't remember when he'd gotten off the wall, or where the warden was or what had happened. All he knew was that he was lying face-down on what felt like rock, covered by what felt like more rock.

He was completely buried.

The last time he'd been buried like this was the day when he and Coulber had initially died; they'd been caught in a rockslide. It was a long story, but he still half expected some witch to dig him out and curse him for his troubles.

Okay, so it was a little more complicated than that, but that didn't make that fear any less potent.

He twitched, trying to see what was capable of moving. His entire body throbbed, surprise surprise, and his leg was screaming at him like it'd been skinned—actually, wait, isn't that what happened?

Rubble shifted to his right, and for a second he thought a witch really was about to come curse him again before he heard Minke's voice, grunting from exertion as she moved the rubble.

"Minke!" Ryan called, "thank goddess!"

"Oh, hey, you're conscious," Minke noticed. She moved more rubble aside, finally seeing Ryan pinned between the remains of the wall he was still shackled to and the ground. "Can you move?"

"I think so," Ryan replied. "I'm a bit stiff though; haven't moved in awhile."

"You say that like you're not laying in a pool of your own blood," Minke pointed out. "You Stücks, always making everything so underwhelming. I get it, you don't die."

A pool of his own—you know what, why was he even surprised? He'd just survived a building collapsing on top of him. It was a messy business. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abrupt ending is abrupt. I had to finish this one before I got into the next chapter, sooooooooooo…sorry?
> 
> I made the catastrophic mistake of looking up degloving, a type of injury that I had to learn about for engineering lab safety. It had been awhile and apparently I'm a sadist, so I looked it up to learn all the grisly details in case I wanted to write about it. Well, apparently I'm also a masochist because as nightmare-fuel as that particular kind of injury is to me, I hit the IMAGES button. 
> 
> Never again.


End file.
